165

Good energy
Posted on September 21, 2021 by David M Willis

165 thoughts on “Good energy”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    LOOK SARAH YOU ASKED

  2. Doctor_Who

    Somewhere, Becky’s ears prick up, she immediately stops work on the large wooden box she was propping up with a stick with a textbook for bait, and her eyes narrow. A new challenger has appeared.

    1. Sirksome

      Joe’s life expectancy has dropped considerably. Especially since Becky already greatly dislikes him.

  3. Spencer

    Becky was so focused on Dorothy she could never conceive the arrival of her true enemy.

    1. Rose by Any Other Name

      I mean… you’re not wrong. Becky seems to at least be partly worried that Dorothy is going to seduce Joyce.
      Joe… actually might.
      Speaking of Joe… wait, was HE the role model she mentioned yesterday?
      Admittedly, I’m not sure how exactly…

      1. RacingTurtle

        Yesterday, it was Sarah. I am 99.7% sure.

        1. Spencer

          It was Sarah yeah. Joyce was so rueful because Sarah keeps falling back into grumpy pissgoblin mode.

          Which come to think of it, that “I know you can be better” mindset is what she applies to Joe.

        2. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Secon~~~ Thirded.

      2. thejeff

        I think she’d be less bothered by Joyce being seduced by a guy – assuming Joyce was happy with it. That’s confirmation that Joyce is straight and her lack of romantic interest in Becky isn’t personal.

        That said, I think she’s more bothered by Dorothy’s best friend status than seduction.

        1. a/snow/mous/e

          > confirmation that Joyce is straight
          I think it only eliminates 7 on the Kinsey scale.

        2. thejeff

          Fair, but I’m speaking from Becky’s viewpoint.
          “reinforcement” might be better.

      3. Daniel M Ball

        is it really a surprise? even with the trouble he got into with the ‘do list’ Joe’s whole approach has been “it’s on the packaging”. He answers her honestly even when it’s not tactful, he listens to her.
        lemme repeat that last bit for you;

        HE LISTENS TO HER. not to who he thinks she should be, not to who he imagines she is, he listens to HER.

  4. Thag Simmons

    This is an excellent plan. Nothing could possibly go wrong

    1. UrsulaDavina

      The logic behind this plan is sound, if Liz hooks up with Joe she can’t hook up with Dorothy, some 4D chess going on here.

      1. RassilonTDavros

        The possible motive you’re suggesting had crossed my mind.

      2. Bladeglory

        And then she just hooks up with both. You underestimate her powers.

    2. Jon

      Are you questioning the success rate of Joyce’s sitcom-level lie schemes?

      1. Thag Simmons

        She’s been surprisingly successful with them, but that doesn’t mean they’ve actually succeeded.

      2. James

        I guess 0% is technically still a rate.

    3. Clif

      This will go well. While all kinds of things could go wrong, it is an excellent plan.

      What’s the worst that could happen?

      1. milu

        What are the haps, my friend?

        1. Decidedly Orthogonal

          A hockey team in Quebec.

          Oh wait… “The Haps” not Habs. Je ne sais pas.

    4. Reltzik

      I unreservedly endorse it.

  5. Svankensen

    Didn’t Joe say that he hated seeing Joyce curse? That’s a low blow.

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      Joe deserves it.

    2. Spencer

      He didn’t like her cursing out of a belief that nothing mattered. If Joyce was swearing because she wanted, like she is now, that’d be different.

      1. Yotomoe

        I dunno even this cursing feels kinda performative to be honest.

        1. Spencer

          It’s performative in the sense that Joyce wouldn’t otherwise engage with it, but she’s doing it now because she wants to sound cool around Liz.

          It’s different than her lashing out at Joe because he questioned her identity so she went all in like “I will say the penis word because God isn’t real and neither is anything I believed in!”

          It’s like, Joyce choosing to let go of something, if only for a day, versus throwing everything out all at once out of aggressive, nihilistic backlash not just towards her faith, but towards the person she used to be, and that person is someone Joe understood was still great.

        2. thebingelord

          This is really insightful and I just wanted to say that 🙂

      2. DailyBrad

        Yeah, he’s mostly against the cursing when she’s forcing it. I don’t think it’s a categoric dislike.

  6. Regalli

    *Gets popcorn*

    1. Decidedly Orthogonal

      Popcorn? I just want someone to give Joyce a hug and tell her it wi be ok.

  7. Mr. Random

    Sarah, you’re trying to trap an extrovert by saying certain friends aren’t appropriate in this mindset.

    It was never going to end well.

  8. RassilonTDavros

    …wait, is panel 2 Sarah implying that Joyce has dropped f-bombs offscreen that we never saw? WE’VE BEEN ROBBED

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      If people on Patreon get to see Joyce’s f-bombs and we didn’t I’m going to be extremely disappointed.

      1. Spencer

        It’s in the secret $10 tier.

        1. thejeff

          That’s also the secret tier that lets you read two days ahead, right?

        2. Spencer

          No that’s the $20 tier.

          That one spins off into the AU series, Ultimate Dumbing of Age.

        3. Thag Simmons

          I thought that was Dumbing Age, the high fantasy AU

      2. ktbear

        Of course, not being on Patreon you’ll never know. *evil giggle*

  9. Carla's #2 Fan

    I know I said I was okay with Liz and Joe meeting, but I change my mind now!

    1. Doctor_Who

      And the Monkey’s Paw curls another finger.

      1. Carla's #2 Fan

        Oh, it certainly wasn’t a wish for them to meet, I just thought I wouldn’t be vehemently against it if they did.

        1. Deanatay

          Random Fan: How bad could this pairing be?

          *Willis grins evilly*

    2. Clif

      Too late.

  10. Josh Spicer

    Best part is an iota of that isn’t wrong.

    Also: Joe!

    Also also: a part of me expects this to end badly. The other, main part of me presently riding a ship to see wants this to go really well to surprise Sarah.

  11. Sirksome

    Somewhere out there Becky has sensed a great disturbance in the force!

  12. Johan

    Well hopefully Joe turns Liz down. He’s be doing so well to not be shitty.

    But I’m a Joe Joyce shipper…

    1. Yotomoe

      I mean if a girl asks if you want to hook up and you do indeed want to hook up, I don’t know why agreeing to a hook up would be particularly “shitty”. (Lord knows I wouldn’t be able to turn down Liz <3)

      1. DailyBrad

        I feel like Joe doing that would not be “wrong”, per se, they are both adults, I believe, but it’d have a lot of collateral damage between Joyce and Sarah alike. It’s not worth it.

        1. He Who Abides

          Considering that Sarah kicked Joe’s door open waving a bat and threatening to kill him a few chapters ago, I feel precious fuck-all in the way of sympathy for her if any of that damage occurs.

        2. Spencer

          But he explicitly offered himself as a hate receptacle.

      2. Alex

        It starts to become shitty if you know your friend’s feelings will be hurt. And Joe has had a lot of sex, this one last encounter isn’t going to be life-changing to him.

      3. thejeff

        It’s not shitty in the abstract, but it’s potential damage to whatever it is he’s got going on with Joyce.

        Of course, he’s likely to do it partly to sabotage whatever that is.

    2. Spencer

      It’s probably not gonna outright happen buuuuuut I have no doubt it’ll get brought up.

  13. StClair

    badger-NOPE.gif

  14. Kyrik Michalowski

    Personally, I would have railroaded Joyce into saying all that in front of Becky and Dorothy. The fireworks display would have been fantastic.

    Just me? Anyone else?

    1. Regalli

      Sarah, deep down inside, does genuinely care about Joyce. And therefore, cares that Joyce doesn’t go hide under a rock in embarassment after her brain catches up to her liberal swearing around Becky.

  15. bleepbloop

    Oh this is not going to end very well

    1. Jamie

      Did it START very well?

      1. Clif

        This will end as well as it started.

        1. Tawnee

          “Well, it started badly and it tailed off a little in the middle and the less said about the end the better, but apart from that, excellent.” – Blackadder IV

        2. thejeff

          This is going to get worse before it gets worse.

  16. TemporalShrew

    Yep, this seems good and fine.

    Yep.

    Yep.

  17. Stephen Bierce

    Nuclear reactor fuel rod, meet nuclear reactor fuel rod.

    1. King Daniel

      It’s okay, so long as we don’t pull out all the control rods at once.

      1. Dana

        Joe strikes me as one who uses protection rather than pulling out.

        1. He Who Abides

          Maybe he does both.

        2. King Daniel

          Well of course, a neutron moderator is a critical component.

    2. Thag Simmons

      3.6 roentgen, not great not terrible.

    3. Deviant

      Lets hope Joe’s tip isnt graphite.

  18. Yotomoe

    Here’s the thing. I know she’s lying her pretty blonde little head off but fuck it. As a Jojo shipper I will take what I can get.

    1. newlland(Henryvolt)

      I’m imagining Joyce dressed up Jotaro Kujo and it’s fantastic.

      1. Yotomoe

        I’ve drawn that.

        1. newlland(Henryvolt)

          How in the world did I miss that.

        2. RassilonTDavros

          The link, for posterity.

          And also this.

        3. Spencer

          I paid for it!

        4. Clif

          You are a public benefactor.

  19. Sirksome

    I know for a fact Joyce has sworn in front of both of them. Hard swears too, not 4th grade stuff like “damn” or “ass”….I joke. That’s not 4th grade stuff. They swear more than most adults.

  20. Mr D

    Joyce. You’re presenting the guy you have a deniable crush on, who happens to use casual sex to denigrate himself, to a girl who is apparently quite thirsty and willing to get some casual boning.

    Joyce, this is what we call “Self Sabotage”. Or “setting yourself up for suffering”

    1. Yotomoe

      You could call it that, or you could call it “Being a great Wingman”. It’s all a matter of perspective :P.

      1. Clif

        Let’s look at it from Joe perspective.

        He’s just been friend-zoned.

        1. LiterallyJustSomeGuy

          I disagree. He’s moved from “shallow friend who can’t talk about feelings and feels uncomfortable going to Becky’s mom’s birthday party” to “best friend.” That is a huge increase in emotional attachment.

    2. Spencer

      I’m reminded that Joyce:

      – was actually ogling the hell out of him when he was in his boxers yesterday.

      – had an Actual Tsundere moment where Joe was refusing to tell her he’d care for Amber (after we already saw he was trying to have her engage with his and his dad’s faith) and angrily noted that he did care but refused to show it, leading Becky to ask why Joyce cared if he cared leading to Joyce to yell back that she doesn’t.

      This is pretty reminiscent of their Walkyverse counterparts, where Joyce was constantly trying to prod out the Joe she saw, but the difference there is that Walkyverse Joe did like her but not enough that he wanted to stop being himself, whereas here we’ve got a Joe with a much shakier foundation for his identity and who isn’t mature enough to be the person he wants to be. A lot of his returns to his established persona have been transparently performative, but we haven’t really seen how he’d act while backsliding or indulging in that old persona when around Joyce, who spelled out for him that his behaviour was deeply triggering for her.

      Sooooo I think it’s less that Joyce has a crush on him and more Joyce gets really attached to people really quick, and Joe is in a frustrating middle ground where he keeps almost proving himself to be good all along before letting Joyce down, but he’s only able to let Joyce down because Joyce does actually have a high opinion of him, even if last chapter she herself tried to dismiss him as not “that kind of friend” who “doesn’t care about family.”

  21. newlland(Henryvolt)

    Joyce what have you done!? Why bring her to Joe of all people!?

    1. Yotomoe

      Ruth was probably busy.

      1. He Who Abides

        Grinding Jason’s dick down to a nub, no doubt.

        1. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Like an angle grinder cutting a twist-tie.

    2. Spencer

      Because Joe is Joyce’s only friend who knows she’s an atheist, and she can let loose with swearing around him because she doesn’t care as much, for one reason or another, how she comes off to him.

  22. Dara

    goddammit joyce xD

  23. Jamie

    When I said “throw Joe at her”, I did not mean it. I swear.

    1. Clif

      Too late.

      We require someone to blame,

  24. Tan

    Dumbing of Age Book 12: You’ve Had Your Fun

    1. LiterallyJustSomeGuy

      Dumbing of Age Book 12: Shit Yeah, Fuck God, Shitty Shit

  25. Joe Moose

    Oh no

  26. Dana

    Joyce has a Christian best friend, an athiest one, a Jewish one… she’s a collector. Definitely an author avitar.

    1. Roborat

      Now they just have to walk into a bar together.

  27. powerpowerpow

    This is the first time in a long time that a comic has made me audibly go “Oh, no…”

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      I don’t think Joyce is ready for that just yet but I have been wrong before.

  28. Imogen

    This is going to hurt Joe, and not just because Becky must destroy am challengers to the title.

  29. William Leonard Reese Jr.

    Joe: I’m your best friend? I didn’t know that your standards were so low. (Is actually super touched)

    Joyce: You’re my best *guy* friend. So don’t worry about my standards whatever they are. (Recognizes that he was touched and appreciates that fact).

    1. a/snow/mous/e

      very tsundere

  30. Bagge

    Solid win for about one panel there, Sarah

    1. ValdVin

      Yeah, but her face in the last panel makes up for it. Well, for us readers.

  31. DailyBrad

    This is all kinds of ridiculous, but it’s got some potentially interesting side effects. Let’s see how it goes.

  32. BBCC

    Oooh! And folks, we see a great brain breaker volley launched by Big Sis, seemingly spiked by Little Sis, we’ll see what happens next, folks.

  33. Kravis

    After Sarah leaves, an unexpected threesome ensues.

  34. auroki

    Last panel Joyce is drawn rather cute I think. Much floof!

    1. Alex

      I love her turtleneck!

  35. Suet

    Joyce introducing Liz to one of her friends is like playing a game of Press Your Luck. Whammied.

    Couldn’t even be Joe, who we last saw a LONG time ago

    1. RassilonTDavros

      (assuming you meant to say “Jacob” at the bottom, since you linked to his last appearance)

      Well, Jacob did say that he needed “a different girlfriend checklist, and it’s gonna sound a lot like [Joyce].” I don’t think he and Liz would actually be compatible, though.

  36. AbacusWizard

    oh no

  37. Bicycle Bill

    Well, Joyce may have THOUGHT it, Sarah, but she didn’t say “Fuck God” (or anyone else).    Not yet, anyway.

    And when she finally does — there will be, to quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, “… a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.”

  38. Muttski

    Oh, Joe. This won’t end well.

  39. Dr. T

    Joe: Well, THIS I did not see coming. When did I become her best friend?

  40. Moon

    love it when i come in here to read the new strip and theres a new 9 chickweed lane on the twitter feed. call it a double feature.

    1. Keulen

      Oh jeez 9CL is such garbage. I can’t even believe the author of that thing is somehow still published in newspapers.

      1. thejeff

        Yeah, but reading Willis reacting to it is fun.

  41. Cholma

    Are we to believe that Joyce has never discussed her *real* Best Friend with Liz on the Book o’ Faces?

    1. Schpoonman

      Liz is in on it. Joyce will introduce her to Fuckface after Sarah’s finally grumbled off back to their room.

  42. EpochFlame

    this can only end well

  43. Katerly

    Everything is coming up Liz!

    1. Katerly

      My icon is Joe !!!!!
      That comment couldn’t have been more perfect!!

  44. segnosaur

    I am a little surprised Joyce wouldn’t simply be able to tell Liz “I am introducing you to friends who don’t know I’m an atheist.”. After all, Liz herself posts bible quotes to fool others into thinking she’s still a christian, so she would recognize that it is sometime necessary to hid part of your life.

    But then, without a little drama it wounldn’t be the comic strip we all like.

    1. Alex

      I think she doesn’t want her cool persona that swears all the time to be revealed as an act.

  45. Holly

    I’d put Liz ‘on’ Joyce’s left shoulder and Sarah ‘on’ her right for some extra religious allusions, but it’s funny the other way round too.

  46. Throwatron

    i am never going to get over how wonderful joyce’s glasses look

    1. Keulen

      They do look good, especially with that sweater she’s wearing in the last panel.

  47. BenRG

    This is going to get ugly. And hilarious, of course.

    I suspect that Joyce is going to end this interaction having had two people express what are, for her, genuinely surprising opinions on who ‘Joyce Brown’ is and in what ways she is most likeable.

  48. Queezle

    oh no. no no no no. I have a bad feeling about this. Noo

  49. Rabisch

    Oh no! Poor, innocent Joe has jet to recover for the surprise of his best friend going out with one of the hottest girl in the campus and is now involved in a very weird situation by his really insicure friend Joyce!!! This will probably end bad! Sarah already hates him, what will her reaction be if Liz and Joe start getting along? And what will Joyce’s reaction be? Will this reunite the two friends against Liz?

  50. Varangian

    Joyce, in an amazing show of friendship and solidarity, will now get Liz laid, and then sob into Sarah’s arms later about how Sarah was right. Truly, she contains multitudes.

    1. Alex

      I was hoping that Joe would refuse and it would escalate the relationship between him and Joyce, but your version sounds more likely.

    2. Rabisch

      This seems quite possible. Once again Sarah will be right and, once again, her victory will leave a very bad taste in Sarah’s mouth.

    3. Fist_of_Life

      And then Sarah will knock on Joe’s door with a baseball bat again. This time with no intentions of going to the batting cages.

      1. Spencer

        “You banged my sister!”

        “Which one?”

    4. Amos Batista

      I don’t know. Joyce just called Joe as “friend”. Not seem like she into him..

  51. Sombrero

    Oh my, I thought for a moment that Sarah will get Joe for herself to keep him away from Liz. I hope I’m wrong.

  52. RacingTurtle

    hee hee hee hee

  53. Zaxares

    Very astute of you, Sarah. And VERY clever of you, Joyce. Palm off Liz on somebody who you know will appreciate the attention AND both of them will enjoy themselves.

  54. Thomas

    Joe is Joyce’s hot friend who is also single. This is gonna backfire spectacularly.

    1. Alex

      What could possibly go wrong?

      1. BenRG

        Only Joyce’s idea of what classifies a ‘role model’. Again.

  55. Chris (the other one)

    Sarah, no, no, that’s perfect, really

  56. AGV

    My inner agent of chaos is thrilled to see where this will go

  57. darkoneko

    creative problems requires creative solutions

    and it’ll probably be the first time since year started that Joe is gonna actively regfret letting 3 women into his room

  58. Crotonhurst

    DAMN. YOU. WILLIS.

    1. Clif

      Once more, with feeling.

  59. Keulen

    Oh shit. This worries me as a Joeyce shipper.

    1. Spencer

      Don’t worry, if anime has taught me anything it’s that Joe flirting with Liz will inspire Comedy Antics in Joyce.

  60. miz

    aww, sarah said “OUR friends”!

    [smiles and politely ignores the rest of the strip]

  61. Pylgrim

    Something tells me that Joe is going to be even more disappointed in her than Dorothy or Becky would have.

    1. BenRG

      I agree. I also suspect that Joyce is going to be arguing with Joe for a while about how his rejection made her break off contact with Liz and he’s cost her a friend! She’ll just not be trying to think too much why Joe’s disapproval should have moved her to action.

  62. Amos Batista

    Joyce delivering Joe to Liz as her “best friend” just blew up any Joe-Joyce ship.
    So I’ll return to Joyce-Dorothy ship again.

    1. Spencer

      Not really.

      Joyce is obviously lying, Joe is just her closest non-Sarah friend who knows she’s an atheist and she doesn’t have this super specific Joyce imagery to live up to in front of him that she does with Dorothy and Becky.

      Plus she’s not into him the way he’s got it bad for her. She does actually like him and believes he’s capable of being a good person, but he’s also let her down enough times that Joyce doesn’t trust him fully yet the way she effortlessly makes friends with everyone, because she doesn’t know when he’ll backtrack on that.

      Also she has observed his dump truck ass and found it appealing.

  63. Fetch85

    And Joe and Liz have already started hooking up….

  64. Deanatay

    Joe’s Brain: Waaaait… my hot ‘best friend’, her hot (and angry) roommate, and her roommate’s hot sister?? This is porn, right? I’ve fallen asleep, and I’m having a porn dream…

    PLEASE GOD DON’T LET ME WAKE UP

  65. Disastroid

    This one might show up on a seismograph.

  66. poofdepoof

    *continues to ship*

  67. Barf Ninjason

    I hope I’ve done this right; I made a art:

    1. Barf Ninjason

      Hm, guess not. Trying again:

      1. Barf Ninjason

        Dammit! Third times the charm?: https://ibb.co/JC0SVQS

        1. Steelbright

          Hee hee

  68. Steelbright

    I’m so excited for this to go wrong in so many ways

  69. plasticwrap

    I am very much looking forward to this epic meeting.

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